Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan tour suggestions
 

My friends and I are planning a trip in July to Bhutan, Tibet, and Nepal. I know that I could do it on my own, but in this instance we'd really like to find a tour group that will take care of all the visa and travel details for us. Can anyone recommend a tour company that has trips to these three locations?

Thank you!

Hello Egordon,Greetings from Nepal..

This is so kind that you are also heading to Nepal in July.Well,Egordon if you like to visit Nepal,Tibet and Bhutan on that period then as i am working in tourism as a Tour Operator I like to suggest you that July is the rainy season in Nepal and Bhutan but tibet will be much nicer and execited than here because rain will be very less at Tibet area,but still you may visit some nice places around Nepal and Bhutan.
Similarly, if you wish to Visit Bhutan then the visa process will be for about a week and for tibet will be 4 days from the applied date.

So, pls let me know if you like to know some more about Nepal and I hope I may able to arrange your tour to Tibet,Bhutan and Nepal together.

So, wish your kind response again and very much optimistic your kind co-operation..
with best rgds
Nakul

Here is one to start with
http://www.peregrineadventures.com/h....asp?trip=2467

J

Thank you! Has anyone traveled with this tour group? The trip looks excellent, but price is a factor and want to make sure it is worth the money.

Also, you mentioned that it is the rainy season there. Will it be so rainy that it isn't worth traveling there?

Thanks again! I've planned many of my trips through this board and have always have fabulous advice. This is my biggest trip yet (all together, I will be traveling to Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and hopefully Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan), so want to make this as good as possible!

For weather info, check www.weatherbase.com

It was my understanding that tour operators and agents were not to post/advertise on this board. Am I mistaken?

You are correct, Robbie. The Fodors editors must be on vacation, as we've been inundated with advertising lately. Normally, they would delete ads.

I would contact destination himalya. I went to India with them last year, but know that they focus on the Hilmalaya region specifically tibet and nepal. I cannot rave about them more and cannot wait to travel with them again!

hello egordon!
I am planning a trip with the same destination in the same time. ha. what a coincidence! I was wondering if you had found anything that's rather cheap? I really want to do this, but don't have that much money to spend...I'll be in nepal for july and august for volunteering and would like to take a 1-2 week "break" for travelling to tibet and bhutan.
thanks already!

I hate to break it to you angi, but egordon took that trip in July of 2007 and is long gone from this forum...

I've trekked in Nepal twice & done a tour in Bhutan with this company http://www.touchkailash.com/index.html

Very happy with all aspects of their operation. Both trekking trips to Nepal were designed to our requirements and the Bhutan trip was just for 4.

I'm planning another trip next year with them

thank you for hte information!!
I have read on some other places that it might be a lot cheaper for me to actually find and book trips from within nepal (since i'm going to be spending most my time there...)
do you know if this is true?

Frankly, you don't need a tour in Nepal - very easy to do on your own. If you want to trek, then you will want a guide/outfitting company and that is easily and cheaply arranged in Nepal.

Nepal is cheap to travel in, Bhutan is expensive, $275 per day and you are required to have a driver and guide. Tibet is relatively expensive to get there, whether you are coming overland though China or overland through Nepal.

Your idea that you can take a 1-2 week break while you are in Nepal to travel to Bhutan and Tibet is not realistic. Do some research, decide where else you want to go in addition to Nepal, or whether you just want to travel within Nepal for your short break.

I agree with Kathie that there is no reason at all to book a tour for Nepal. Bhutan will be expensive however you do it, as the per day expenditure requirement applies whether you are with a western tour group, a Bhutanese tour group or on your own. (There is an additional fee if you are solo.)

For both Bhutan and China (and India, for that matter) you will need to at least get your visas ahead of time, and you can't get the Bhutanese visa without booking a tour and flight(s). Also, access to Tibet is often restricted for political reasons, you may plan to travel there and then find you have to do something else instead.

Just a note about the US $250 /$275 fee in Bhutan.
That covers accommodation, food, transport, guide, driver and tours. The only additional expenditure is at your own discretion - alcohol at meals, for instance.

I was there last month for a week. I thought it pretty good value, particularly considering the distances covered, quality of accommodation & itinerary flexibility for our group of 4.

thank you for the info on Bhutan..it's what I've read already..so there really is no cheap way of getting there....bummer. it'll have to be just tibet then. so because of political unrest it is sometimes not possible to get in? Does anyone have experiences with that? how often does that happen? would it be better for me to wait to be in nepal to book from there to make sure i don't lose my money due to political unrest in tibet?

does anyone have any experience with footprint-adventures?
( www.footprint-adventures.co.uk )

You need to check with the Chinese embassy in your country whether you can get a Chinese visa in Nepal. It used to be possible to get a Chinese visa in another country (I got one in Austria) but the rules have changed recently. Usually you need to be part of a group to go to Tibet. TAs in Chengdu and Kunming make up "groups" just to get people in. Don't know about Nepal. See DMBTraveler's thread for recent difficulty entering Tibet.

Again, if you are looking for cheap, there is no really cheap way to get to Tibet. It would make more sense to wait until Nepal to book your trip to Tibet. However, you must get a Chinese visa which you may not be able to get in Nepal (see Thursday's posts above). An agent in Nepal will put together a group for the trip to Tibet, so you need some flexibility in terms of time - it can take a while to accumulate the number of people required for a group trip to Tibet (the only way to get there). Note that the requirements change often, but last I heard, the requirement was for a minimum of four people - of the same nationality - to form a group for Tibet.

The Chinese can and do close access to Tibet regularly, often with little/no notice.

thank you!
four people--OF THE SAME NATIONALTY? -.- i hope that changes/changed already...damn that should take a while...so I guess i'll have to be flexible...I'm alright with that.
thank you again for all the help!

this may sound stupid..but what is the DMBT traverler's thread?

Just look down the list of recent posts, and you 'll see one called "Beijing To Tibet, Mt. Everest And Nepal All In 10 Days" by DMBTraveler.

If you are going in July, and are constrained by time and/or money I would forget Bhutan and Tibet and look at northern India. July is a good time for Ladakh, for instance.

thhanks kathie!
and thursdayd, thanks for the idea! But i REALLY REALLY REALLY want to go to tibet..it's one of my dreams, and i know that if i don't go now i'm goig to resent not going a week after i come back from nepal XD i will find a way! Bhutan is off the list now though..that was just an idea i had shortly after looking at pictures and maps and stuff..but tibet i REALLY want to go!! and i've found something with a really great price for just over a week. now it's just to figuire out if the company is trustworthy..because it's so much cheaper than everything else i've found..

If I was that convinced I wanted to go to Tibet I would be visiting from China, not Nepal. And I would either have plenty of time to arrange things in Kunming, or I would make arrangements ahead of time with a well-known company. In other words, you either need plenty of time or plenty of money or both, and you are still subject to the whims of the Chinese government. At least check on which anniversaries the government usually blocks access.

Note that there are also Tibetan areas in China proper.

If you want a cheaper but reputable company look at Intrepid, Imaginative Traveler or Peregrine/Gecko.

thanks for the information and the companies.

do you know footprint-adventures.co.uk ?

Never heard of them. The only Footprints company I know about is the one that publishes guidebooks.

Also, you might find this interesting:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/latest...eb10575107.htm

Looks like the visa situation is currently good, but there is no guarantee that will continue.

wohoo! thank you so much! I just heard from DMBT travel that they also had no trouble with visas.